Assistant Staff Officer

About Fingal County Council

Fingal is a highly attractive place to live, work, visit and do business. It comprises a geographical area of 450 sq.km stretching from Balbriggan in the north, to Blanchardstown in the west and to Howth in the east. The area is defined by the diversity of its landscape and settlement patterns with rural, urban and suburban locations all rolled into one county. There is 88kms of coastline, three large protected estuaries and salt marsh habitats and 13 major beaches.

Fingal County Council is one of the county’s major local employers and currently employs approximately 1,600 staff. The Council is mandated to deliver a diverse range of functions and services which can be broadly described under the headings of the provision of physical and social infrastructure, housing, economic and tourism development, community development, recreation and amenity services and the management of the planning and environmental regulatory framework. The role of the County Council as provided for in law is to represent, lead and serve the communities of Fingal.

Duties

The Assistant Staff Officer is a support or supervisory position within the Council and is assigned responsibility for the day-to-day operation of a work area, section or team. The Assistant Staff Officer works as part of a team, supporting managers and colleagues to meet work goals and objectives and to deliver quality services to internal and external customers. The post holder will be responsible for the implementation of work programmes to achieve goals and targets set out in Departmental and Team Plans. The Assistant Staff Officer is expected to carry out their duties in a manner that enhances public trust and confidence.

Persons employed will be required to work in any location within the Fingal administrative area. 

The duties may include but are not limited to:

·       Providing administrative backup and support for their line-manager to achieve key goals, objectives and tasks;

·       Supervising staff and deputising for the line-manager as required;

·       Operating under the direction of the line-manager;

·       Participating as an effective team member towards the efficient operation of their department / section;

·       Collating and analysing information / data and reporting on same;

·       Maintaining accurate records and files;

·       Assisting with budget management / reporting and procurement;

·       Ensuring the provision of high quality Customer Services;

·       Briefing and training new staff;

·       Implementing agreed procedures, schemes and policies of the Council;

·       Operating existing and future IT systems;

·       Taking initiative and being proactive in addressing issues;

·       Assisting with the implementation of change and delivering quality services;

·       Working effectively with staff, members of the public, public representatives, external agencies and various Council Departments.

Qualifications and requirements of the post

CHARACTER

Each candidate must be of good character.

HEALTH

Each candidate must be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service. 

EDUCATION, TRAINING, EXPERIENCE, ETC.

Each candidate must, on the latest date for receipt of completed application forms:

(i)

(a)   have obtained at least Grade D (or a Pass), in Higher or Ordinary

Level in five subjects (or four subjects if Irish is included) from the

approved list of subjects in the Department of Education

Established Leaving Certificate Examination or Leaving Certificate

Vocational Programme including Irish and/or English and one of

the following: Mathematics, Accounting, Business Organisation or

Economics, and

(b)   have obtained at least Grade C (or Honours) in higher level (or Honours) papers in three subjects in that examination (or two subjects if Irish and/or one of the following is included: Mathematics, Accounting, Business Organisation or Economics), or

(ii)             have obtained a comparable standard in an equivalent examination, or

(iii)            hold a third level qualification of at least degree standard, or

(iv)            be a serving employee in a Local Authority, or a Regional Assembly and have at least 2 years satisfactory experience in a post of Clerical Officer or an analogous post.

The ideal candidate will:

·       have knowledge of the structure and functions of local government, of current local government issues, future trends and strategic direction of local government and an understanding of the role of the Assistant Staff Officer in this context.

·       have a satisfactory understanding of the Council’s purpose and priorities and knowledge of public service organisation in Ireland in order to achieve effective service delivery.

·       understand the changing environment and be capable of adapting to change in order to deliver quality services to our citizens.

·       have ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines in the delivery of key policy objectives.

·       have good interpersonal and communications skills.

·       be self-motivated with ability to work on own initiative.

·       demonstrate relevant administrative experience and have strong report writing, editing and proof-reading skills.

·       have excellent comprehensive knowledge and experience of operational ICT systems.

·       have an awareness of Health and Safety legislation and regulations, the implications for the organisation and the employee, and their application in the workplace.

The Selection Process:

Fingal County Council reserves the right to shortlist applications, if required. This is not to suggest that any candidate may be unsuitable or incapable of undertaking the duties of the post advertised, but rather that there may be candidates who have demonstrated that they are better qualified and/or have more relevant experience.

The number of persons to be invited, in these circumstances, to interview shall be determined by the local authority from time to time, having regard to the likely number of vacancies to be filled.

Step 1: Initial Screening

In the first instance, all applications received by the latest date/time for receipt of completed applications are screened for eligibility in accordance with the qualifications for the post as set out in this booklet and declared by the Minister for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under Section 160 of the Local Government Act 2001.

Step 2: Shortlisting

Each candidate’s application may be assessed against pre-determined criteria based on the requirements of the position as outlined in this booklet. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to provide a detailed and accurate account of their qualifications and/or experience in their application form and to outline the relevance of their experience in the examples provided.

Step 3: Interview

Candidates who are successful in the shortlisting process will be invited to attend for interview(s). Fingal County Council will endeavor to give sufficient notice of the interview to shortlisted candidates. Thereafter, it is the responsibility of the candidate to make themselves available on the date/time selected. Candidates who do not attend for interview will be deemed to have withdrawn their application from the competition. Expenses incurred by candidates in attending for interview, will be at the candidates own expense.

An independent interview board will be established by the Senior Executive Officer, People Services, or other designated officer, to assess the candidates shortlisted for interview. The interview board will generally comprise of a Chairperson and two other members, who will have expert knowledge in the relevant field. The objective of the interview board is to identify candidates who best meet the objective criteria and competencies required for the position and to place them in order of merit.

Candidates who are successful in the interview will be qualified in order of merit for appointment to the post of Staff Officer and placed on a panel. It should be noted that placement on a panel may not necessarily lead to a job offer. The selection process is not concluded until such time as references have been sought and clearance checks, i.e. Garda vetting, occupational health, verification of education qualifications, etc, have been carried out to the satisfaction of the Council.

Benefits

At Fingal County Council, we value our employees and want to support them to develop their careers. We offer flexible working arrangements, competitive salaries and pension benefits, a positive work environment, training and development opportunities, a defined career path in a supportive and inclusive culture and the opportunity to make a difference, along with the following benefits:

Ø  Standard working day is 9-5 with Flexitime (up to 13 flexi days per year)

Ø  Excellent Work/Life balance with Family Friendly Schemes such as Shorter Working Year and Work-sharing

Ø  Opportunities for promotion and career development

Ø  Employee Assistance and Wellbeing Programme

Ø  Pension Scheme

Ø  Blended Working available - up to 2 days per week

Ø  Ongoing training and higher educational support

Ø  Cycle to Work Scheme

Particulars of Employment

The employment is wholetime, permanent and pensionable. Persons who become pensionable employees of a local authority who are liable to pay the Class A rate of PRSI contribution will be required in respect of their superannuation to contribute to the local authority at the rate of 1.5% of their pensionable remuneration plus 3.5% of net pensionable remuneration (i.e. pensionable remuneration less twice the annual rate of social insurance old age contributory pension payable at the maximum rate to a person with no adult dependant or qualified children). 

Persons who become pensionable employees of a local authority who are liable to pay the Class D rate of PRSI contribution will be required in respect of their superannuation to contribute to the local authority at the rate of 5% of their pensionable remuneration. 

All persons who become pensionable employees of a local authority will be required in respect of the local Government (Spouses and Children’s Contributory Pension) Scheme to contribute to the local authority at the rate of 1.5% of their pensionable remuneration in accordance with the terms of the Scheme. 

PROBATION

Where persons who are not already employees of a Local Authority are employed, the following provisions shall apply: 

(a)             there shall be a period after such employment take effect during which such persons shall hold such employment on probation,

(b)             such period shall be one year, but the Chief Executive may at his or her discretion extend such period,

(c)             such persons shall cease to hold employment at the end of the period of probation unless during such period the Chief Executive has certified that the service of such persons is satisfactory.

SALARY

€35,613, €37,740, €40,759, €42,741, €44,475, €46,153, €48,417, €50,056, €51,722, €53,296, (LSI 1), €54,911 (LSI 2).

Persons who are not serving local authority employees will be based on the minimum of the scale.

Holders of the post shall pay to the local authority any fees or other monies (other than their inclusive salary) payable to or received by them by virtue of their post or in respect of any services which they are required by or under any enactment to perform.

HEALTH

For the purpose of satisfying the requirement as to health it will be necessary for successful candidates, before they are employed, to undergo a medical examination by a qualified medical practitioner to be nominated by the Local Authority.

RETIREMENT AGE

The retirement age is 70 years.

The local authority shall require a person to whom employment is offered to take up such employment within a period of not more than 6 weeks and if he or she fails to take up the employment within such period or such longer period as the local authority in its absolute discretion may determine, the local authority shall not employ the person.